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Planting
Days to maturity
Seasonal yields
Sow indoors · Direct sow · Transplant outdoors
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Plant · P-181
Ramps
Allium tricoccum
Ramps (wild leek) are a spring ephemeral of eastern North American hardwood forests, pushing up through last year's leaf litter on the rich, shaded, moist woodland floor before the tree canopy closes overhead. The bulbs taste like a cross between onion and garlic and are dug in earliest spring, while the leaves are milder, closer to leek. It grows painfully slowly - a seed can take two years just to sprout, and a plant needs five to seven years before it's ready to harvest - so wild populations have been overharvested across its range, and conservation groups recommend buying nursery-propagated stock rather than digging plants from the wild.
Record at a glance
Growing profile
- Sun
- Partial Sun · Shade
- USDA zone
- USDA 3–8
- Soil
- Not yet recorded
- Moisture
- Well-Drained · Moderate
Vertical layer
Herbaceous- Soil pH
- 4.7–6.7
- Plant type
- Perennial
- Mature height
- 6–12 in
- Mature spread
- 12–24 in
- Plant spacing
- 4–6 in
- Root type
- Bulb
- Spread pattern
- Both
Keep exploring
Similar plants
Discover more plants with shared forest layers or growing conditions.
Alsike Clover
Trifolium hybridum
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Amaranth Greens
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranth greens are one of the few leafy vegetables actually built for peak summer heat rather than one that just tolerates it - sown once…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
Anise Hyssop
Agastache foeniculum
Anise hyssop is a genuine dual-purpose herb: the leaves and flowers taste like sweet anise and work raw, cooked, or steeped for tea, and the…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–8
Apple Mint
Mentha suaveolens
Apple Mint is a fast-spreading perennial with densely hairy, spearmint-flavored leaves, usually chopped into a dish or brewed as a tea rather…
Herbaceous · USDA 5–9
Arugula
Eruca vesicaria
Arugula is the fastest food crop in the collection, germinating in about a day and giving a first harvest of strongly peppery leaves within…
Herbaceous · USDA 2–11
Ashy Sunflower
Helianthus mollis
Ashy sunflower is a native prairie perennial grown for its grayish, hairy foliage and bright yellow, brown-centered flower heads that bloom…
Herbaceous · USDA 4–9
The deeper layer
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- Primary
- Locked ecological function
- Secondary
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- Byproduct
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Behind the record
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